Russia announced on Thursday that its defense forces had intercepted and shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions, including 35 targeting the Moscow area. The surge in drone attacks comes amid escalating hostilities in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, despite international calls for peace.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the drone strikes occurred between midnight and early morning on Thursday. This follows a previous report of over 300 Ukrainian drones being downed the day before. Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, confirmed multiple drone interceptions near the capital, home to approximately 21 million people. The drone threat led to temporary flight suspensions at Moscow’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports.
In a separate development, Russia said it launched an Iskander-M missile targeting the city of Pokrov in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze. Russian officials claimed the strike destroyed two Patriot missile launchers and an AN/MPQ-65 radar system. Ukraine’s air force acknowledged damage in the area following the attack but did not specify the weapon involved.
Russian forces also reported progress along key fronts, with pro-Russian sources claiming breakthroughs between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his nightly address, highlighted heavy fighting around Pokrovsk but made no mention of any Russian advances.
The conflict, which began in 2014, has seen Russia control nearly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea (annexed in 2014), nearly all of Luhansk, and significant parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Russia also holds a small portion of Kharkiv. While Russia considers these territories part of its sovereign land, Ukraine and Western allies reject this claim.
The war remains Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with diplomatic efforts underway but no immediate resolution in sight. U.S. President Donald Trump has called for an end to the conflict, but both sides remain far apart on conditions for ceasefire.
Sources By Agencies
